Non-Toxic Backpacks, ranked by PFAS grade

Are backpacks safe?

None of the 15 backpacks we graded come back low-concern on our screen. Our grades are model-based assessments built from published materials, ingredient lists, certifications and brand disclosures, not laboratory tests, so they say what we can evidence rather than that anything is safe.

Best graded backpacks here

1Patagonia Refugio Day Pack 30L 45 out of 100
2Patagonia Black Hole Pack 25L Patagonia 45 out of 100
3Fjällräven Fjallraven Kanken Backpack 20 out of 100

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The best non-toxic backpacks, ranked by grade

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Buyer’s guide

What to look for in backpacks, and which brands grade best and worst

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Why Patagonia Refugio Day Pack 30L grades highest here, and why that is not a pass

Every grade on this page is one sum. A category starts from a baseline, each disclosed material or coating adds risk points, and each thing the brand or a third party has published takes them away. Below is that sum for the winner, then for 1 product it beats, so you can see exactly where the 25 points between the top and the bottom of this backpacks ranking come from. Nothing in this category reaches our 70 point pass mark, so this is the shape of the field rather than a recommendation.

Top graded, and still below our pass mark

45Poor

Patagonia Refugio Day Pack 30L

Made of Nylon/polyester blend with water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) treatment.

+35Waterproof / stain-resistant treatment. Water-repellent coating treatments have historically used PFAS.
+30Category baseline. The starting point for this type of product, before anything specific to this product is counted.
-10Brand-stated PFAS-free. The brand states this product is PFAS-free. We have not verified the claim.

55risk points in total, which is a grade of 45

What the grade does not fix. It still carries one risk factor, Waterproof / stain-resistant treatment, and our graders recorded 3 other hazards on it. See the full breakdown.

Full breakdown

What it still grades above, and why

20Bad25 points behind the winner

Fjällräven Fjallraven Kanken Backpack

What puts it behind. No PFAS disclosure, +15 points. No public statement from the brand about PFAS in this product. The top-graded product carries no such factor.

Made of Vinylon (polyvinyl chloride-based synthetic fiber) fabric with wax-based water repellent.

+35Waterproof / stain-resistant treatment
+30Category baseline
+15No PFAS disclosure

80risk points, a grade of 20

No product on this page was physically tested by us. Every number above comes from published materials, ingredient and coating disclosures, certifications and brand statements, scored on one public rubric. Formulations change without notice, so check the current product listing before buying.

Which backpacks contain PFAS? Poor and Bad, we’d swap these

Patagonia

Refugio Day Pack 30L

45PoorPFAS grade

Nylon/polyester blend with water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) treatment
The brand calls it PFAS-free, which we have not verified
PFAS

3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.

Non-Toxic Backpacks, ranked by PFAS grade

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Are backpacks safe?

Why Patagonia Refugio Day Pack 30L grades highest here, and why that is not a pass

What it still grades above, and why

Which backpacks contain PFAS? Poor and Bad, we’d swap these

Get the graded list, free.